2 Joseph Takes Mary as Wife

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Collin Mitchell
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1 The Angel Appears to Mary 2 Joseph Takes Mary as Wife Luke 1:26-38 Matthew 1:18-25 And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow

(verses 35, 38, ESV) What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God? Mary said yes to God in her heart. She believed that what He said would come true. What did she say yes to?

1 1 The Angel Appears to Mary 2 Joseph Takes Mary as Wife Luke 1:26-38 Matthew 1:18-25 And the angel answered her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy the Son of God. Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. (verses 35, 38, ESV) What does it mean that Jesus is the Son of God? Mary said yes to God in her heart. She believed that what He said would come true. What did she say yes to? We can pay attention to our hearts. How can we each say yes to God? All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (verses 22-25, ESV) What does it mean that Jesus is Immanuel? Joseph listened and obeyed. How did he do this? We can listen and obey. How can we choose to do this?

2 Matthew 1:18-25 Luke 1:26-38 Jesus is introduced to Joseph as Immanuel, God with us. During Jesus life on earth, he was exactly that God, living in a human body, so he could be with us. After Jesus died and rose back to life, he said to his disciples, And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). After he returned to heaven, Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to those who believe in him. It is through the Holy Spirit that Jesus lives in our hearts (Eph. 3:16-17, Rom. 8:9-10). Real obedience isn t just doing the right things, but also having the right motive. My heart and motives matter to God. He wants us to do everything out of love for Him and people. Sometimes we don t feel like doing the right thing. Even though it doesn t come from our heart we still need to obey. Doing the right thing can help our heart to grow. We can listen and obey. How can we choose to do this? Talk about examples of obeying our parents or God, such as: the way I treat my sibling, what we do when we re mad, words we say, doing what mom says, or being generous. Being the Son of God means that Jesus did not have an earthly father. It was God the Father who caused Mary to become miraculously pregnant. Jesus is God the Son, come to earth to live life as a human (Phil. 2:5-11). In the Gospels we see Jesus live out his authority and power as God in teaching truth, forgiving sins, and in his power over creation, death, and Satan. Can you think of an example where Jesus was able to do things that humans can t? See how Jesus s life showed his power as God in these passages: teaching with authority (Mk. 1:21-28), forgiving (Mk. 2:1-12), power over creation (Mt. 8:23-27), power over evil (Mk. 1:21-28), and power over death (Jn. 11:38-48). Jesus did what only God could do for us. He lived a sinless life. He carried the sin all people who will ever live and took the punishment for it by dying on the cross. Because He is God the grave could not hold onto Him. He is more powerful than death. He came back to life! And his resurrection is the promise that I can become a new person when I believe in Him. We are forgiven and his Holy Spirit lives in us, helping us to live life differently than before. Mary chose in her heart to say yes to God. She believed that what He said would come true. A responsive heart says yes to God and I ll do it Your way, even when it s hard. How can we each say yes to God? We can say yes to believing who Jesus is and believing that we need him in our lives. As we grow in our relationship with him, we say yes to knowing him and becoming like him (in our hearts, words, and actions).

3 Jesus is Born 4 The Shepherds Luke 2:1-7 Luke 2:8-20 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the

3 3 Jesus is Born 4 The Shepherds Luke 2:1-7 Luke 2:8-20 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (verse 7, ESV) And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. (verse 16-17, ESV) What does it mean that Jesus was human? Because Jesus lived as a human, it helps us know that he understands us. When we have problems, Jesus is with us and can help us. What problems did Mary and Joseph have? We can share our problems with Jesus. What problems do we each have? How can Jesus help us? What does it mean that Jesus is Savior? The shepherds showed that Jesus was very important to them. How did the shepherds respond? We can show that Jesus is the most important person in our lives. How can we do this?

4 Luke 2:8-20 Luke 2:1-7 Jesus is our Savior because he saves us from our sin. Our sin breaks our relationship with God and causes many problems in our lives. The consequence of sin is death. Adam and Eve would have lived forever if they did not sin, but because they sinned they died. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we will come to life again after we die. We will be with Jesus in heaven forever. Jesus saves us from sin and death! you are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. ~ Matthew 1:21 We each must make the choice for ourselves. When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we begin our relationship with him. This means that we come to Jesus, saying, I believe you are God s Son and you died for my sins. I understand I have sinned in my heart and my actions. Please forgive me. I want to know you and be like you. I need you! {If you are putting ornaments on your tree, use the Jesus ornament for this devotion.} Though he was God, Jesus humbly chose to live on earth as a human in a body like us. He experienced hunger, tiredness, suffering, and temptation. By living on earth as a human, Jesus showed that he loves us and understands us. Because he lived as a human like us, it helps us know he cares and can help us with our problems. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. ~ Hebrews 4:14-16 When the angels appeared to the shepherds, they responded by quickly going to see Jesus and telling others about him. How can we respond to Jesus? First, we learn about him and accept him as our Savior. From there, we can pay attention to our relationship with him. Two main ways we do this are by reading the Bible and praying. We can know him and learn to live like him. We remember Jesus is with us all the time. Mary and Joseph had many problems: she was pregnant before they were married, people looked down on them because Mary was pregnant before they were married, Joseph considered not marrying her, the timing of the census and travel was bad, they were poor, lodging wasn t available, Mary gave birth in a dirty place with little help, they were in danger because of Herod, and then they traveled to Egypt as foreigners. As an adult Jesus was tempted by sin, mocked, challenged, doubted, surrounded by troubled people in great need of spiritual and physical healing, many of His own followers doubted and left Him, He was betrayed and abandoned at the end, he was pressured to have earthly success, and he was ultimately rejected, tortured, and crucified. Jesus had problems, and we will, too. Because of all he went through, he is a wonderful comfort and help to us when we have problems.

5 5 The Wise Men Matthew 2:1-12 Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. (verse 2, ESV) What does it mean that Jesus is King? The wise men recognized Jesus as King and worshipped him. How did they do this? I will worship Jesus! I will show he is important to me and that I love him. How can I do this? ~ Family Advent Devotions ~

6 Family Advent Devotions Introduction These advent readings provide five weekly devotions. Each one helps us know Jesus by one of his names, and respond to him. This is relational! We want to grow in relationship with Jesus, rather than simply know about him. Each devotion focuses on a Bible passage, which can be read aloud as a family. Teach one also includes key verses and discussion questions. For young children, you can use only the front side and keep answers simple. The notes on the back can be used with older children or for further reading. The main point of the devotional is to have a meaningful conversation as a family. 1) What does it mean that Jesus is? For this question, we explore one aspect of who Jesus is. Each aspect invites us to know him in a different way. 2) How can I do this? For this question, try to think of specific examples of how this can be lived out. Real faith starts with belief from our heart, and then shows in how we live. A fun, easy family activity is to put an ornament on the tree with each devotion. Older children could help make them! I wrote five names of Jesus on ornaments (Son of God, Immanuel, Jesus, Savior, and King). You can do this with glue and glitter, or Sharpie Metallic Paint markers. Another idea is to set out one character or set of characters of the nativity set to correspond with each devotion. Matthew 2:1-12 Because Jesus is King, it means everything rightfully belongs to him. We should seek to please him in every part of our lives. By doing this, we show that he is the most important person in our lives. Jesus will also be the King when we live with him in heaven in eternity. Because of his great love, Jesus went first in showing we are very important to him. He did this in his life on earth and on the cross. In return, we want to show that he is important to us and that we love him: And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ~ Philippians 2:8-11 Worship simply means showing that Jesus is important to us and that we love him. We can do this by singing, praying, and going to church. We can also worship him by the way we live all day long! We can do this by choosing to live like he lived. We worship Jesus when we do and say things in a way that please him. The wise men spent much time, energy, and resources to recognize Jesus as king and come worship him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ~ Matthew 2:11 Is Jesus the King in all areas of my life? Do I trust him with what I treasure most? How can we use our time, energy, and resources to show love for Jesus? And for the people he loves?

Luke 2:1-7. The birth of Jesus

Luke 2:1-7. The birth of Jesus Luke 2:1-7 The birth of Jesus In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor